13 May AfSA at the Africa Forward Summit 2026: Advancing Africa’s Space Economy Summit

On 11 May 2026, H.E. Dr Tidiane Ouattara, President of the African Space Council, represented the African Space Agency (AfSA) at the Africa Forward Summit – Business Forum held in Nairobi, Kenya. AfSA, the African Union organ responsible for space affairs, was invited to participate in this high-level platform bringing together political leaders, investors, industry actors, and innovators to shape the future of Africa’s economic transformation. During the discussions on digital infrastructure, aerospace, industrial sovereignty, and competitiveness, H.E. Dr Ouattara highlighted the strategic role of the space sector in supporting agriculture, disaster risk management, urban planning, climate resilience, logistics, connectivity, and digital transformation across Africa.

The Forum also reinforced the importance of a renewed France-Africa partnership founded on equity, mutual respect, and shared prosperity, as emphasised by President Emmanuel Macron. During the Summit, President Macron announced approximately €23 billion (USD 27 billion) in investments for Africa, including €14 billion from French public and private entities and €9 billion from African investors, focused on energy transition, digital technologies, artificial intelligence, maritime economy, and agriculture. In this context, H.E. Dr. Ouattara stressed the importance of increased investments across three strategic pillars of the African space economy: infrastructure (ground and space infrastructure), talent development (engineers, researchers, innovators, and technical professionals), and downstream applications, and downstream applications (products and services); while encouraging investors and private-sector actors to align with the African space policy and priorities.

As Africa’s space economy continues to expand rapidly, AfSA reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the continent moves beyond being solely a consumer of space services to becoming a competitive industrial, technological, and innovation actor within the global space economy. The Agency further called for stronger public-private collaboration, strategic investments, and the development of African capabilities across the space value chain to secure long-term economic growth and strategic autonomy for the continent.